Fluid-gage for automobiles and the like.



W. & T. M. HAMPE & E. H. ROLLIN.

FLUID GAGE FOR AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FI'LED MAY 6. I912.

Patented NOY. 30, 1915.

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WITNESSES: I Q' Mic/WW3.

WILLIAM HAMPE, THEODORE M. HAMPE, AND EUGENE H. ROLLIN, F INDIANAPOLIS,

I INDIANA.

FLUID-GAGE FOR AUTOMOBILES AND THE LIKE.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Datented Nov. 30,1915.

Application filed May 6, 1912. Serial No'. 695,566.

' To all whom it may concern:

' useful Fluid-Gage for Automobiles and the like; and we do herebydeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to. the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide satisfactory and practicalmeans for indicating the amount of gasolene or other fluid in a tank,and has been made with particular reference to use in automobiles so asto indicate the number of gallons in the gasolene tank, and also toprevent the gage from being affected by the oscillation of theautomobile. I

One feature of the invention consists in providing a vertical tube inconnection with the fluid tank so that the fluid will stand at about thesame elevation in said tube and tank, and arranging a float in saidtube, and means actuated by said float for controlling and operating anindicator located at any suitable place. Inthe case of an'automobile,the tank is usually under the seat and the indicator should be onthe'dash in front of the seat. Hence, the connection from the tank tothe gage must pass under the floor of the automobile, and, therefore,the ordinary fluid gage would not bepossible on accountof the necessaryconstruction of the automobile. That difliculty is obviated by thepresent invention.

Another feature of the invention consists in proy'iding an automaticvalve construction in the communication between the tank and gage tubefor preventing the fluid in the latter from being affected byoscillation of the total structure or automobile.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanyingdrawings and thefollowing description and claim:

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of thechassis of an automobile with the dash and a part of the seat thereon,parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the indicator.Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. at is a centralvertical section through the upper part of the gage tube, longitudinallyof the automobile, parts being broken away.

F 5 is a central vertical section through the gage tube in a plane atright angles to that shown in Fig. 4, and transversely of theautomoblle, and with vertical longitudinal section through a part of theconnection between the gage tube and the fluid tank, parts being brokenaway. Fig. 6 is a perspective View of one end of one of the pipes insaid connection between the tank and gage tube,-

with the valve open. Fig. 7 is alongitudinal vertical section through aportion of the connection between said tank and tube,

showing the same ,in a tilted position, parts being broken away. Fig. 8is a section on the line 88 of Fig. 8. I

There is shown in the drawings herewith a chassis 10 of an automobilehaving a seat 11 under which there is a gasolene tankul2. The horizontalportion of the floor of the automobile is located at 13 and the inclinedportion at 14.

15 is the dash, 16 is the engine, 17 is the radiator and 18 is thesteering shaft.

A gage tube 20-is vertically arranged immediately in front ofthe dashand from the upper part of that gage tube there is a pipe 21 leading tothe casing 22 of an indicator on the front part of the dash and which isin tank 12 by a connection located below the Floor of-the automobile andconsisting of a tube 25 running from the tank to a valve chamber 26 anda tube 27 running-from the valve chamber 26 to the lower end of the gagetube 20. In this way the fluid will stand in the tank and gage tube atthe same level. But in order to prevent the fluid from changing level inthe gage tube by reason of any oscillatory movement of the automobile,there is provided in the valve chamber 26 two valves 28 and 29 similarlyconstructed and mounted in connection with the ends of the two pipes 25and 27, respectively. The ends of said pipes are oppositely beveled andthe lower ends of the valves are weighted by weights 30, so that whenthe valve chamber 26 is in the horivalve chamber andpipes be tiltedforwardly ing into the gage tube. If the parts should be tiltedrearwardly or the reverse of what appears in Fig. 7, then the valve 28would close the pipe 25 and prevent fluid from running back from thegage tube to the tank. Hence, there is a substantially uniform levelmaintained in both the tank and gage tube, despite the plunging oroscillation of the automobile.

VVit'hin the gage tube 20 there is a float 130 which rides upon thesurface of the fluid therein and actuates a sprocket chain 31 connectedwith it which lies over an idler 32 at the lower end of the gage tubeand a sprocket wheel 33 at the upper end. The sprocket wheel 33 ismounted on a shaft 34 which projects through the pipe 21 into theindicator casing. The shaft 34 has a bearing 35 at one end in the wallof the gage tube and at the other end in a bearing 36 Within the casing22. There is a dial 37 with a series of numerals on the same near theperiphery to indicate gallons and there is an indicator or hand 38movable over said'dial and pointing toward said numerals and mounted ona shaft 39 which extends through the dial 37. The shaft 39 carries agear 40 which meshes with a smaller gear 41 on the inner end of theshaft 39 and by the means so far described said indicator 38 isactuated. Assuming that the hand is at Zero when the fluid in'the tube20 is on a level with the bottom of the tank 12, the addition of everygallonin the tank will cause a corresponding upward movement of thefloat 130 and a corresponding movement of the indicator 38. While theindicator in Figs. 2 and 3 is shown at zero, still with the amount offluid in the tube shown in Fig. 5, the indicator would be actuated fromzero and would point probably to 16, indicating that there were sixteengallons of gasolene in the machine. In order to mount the sprocket wheel32 in the bottom of the tube 20, said tube must extend somewhat lowerthan the tank 12 so that there will always be left in the bottom of thetube 20 some gasolene extending up substantially as high as the bottomof the tube 27 and that is the lower limit of the movement of the float130. There is a short shaft 50 within the casing 22 and in alinementwith the shaft 3% and upon one end of said shaft there is a unitscounting wheel 51 and upon the opposite end, a ratchet wheel 53. arm 54is secured upon the end of the shaft 34 with a pawl 55 pivotally mountedupon the outer end thereof and pressed by a spring 56 into engagementwith the teeth of the ratchet 53. The teeth in said ratchet are so cutthat movement of the shaft 34 in one direction will cause the pawl 55 toengage and turn the ratchet and operate the counter, while with thereverse movement of the shaft 34,the pawl will drag over the teeth ofsaid ratchet and not influence the counting mechanism. A gear 51 on thefront shaft 50 drives the tens and hundreds counting wheels insuccession in a manner commonly used in adding machinery and arranged sothat each revolution of one of the adding wheels will move the ends onlyonetenth of a revolution. Since such mechanism is a familiar one, thedetails are not here shown. Backward movement of the frontshaft 50 andthe counting wheels is prevented, by a notched 'wheel 58 secured on saidshaft which is engaged by a spring 59 secured to the bottom of the case22. The counting wheels have numerals on them which are exposed throughopenings 52 in the dial, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. This addingmechanism is in order to show the operator the number of gallons he hasused since the same was started at Zero. The adding means here shownwould indicate up to the limit of 999 gallons. In this way the amount ofgasolene used in a trip or season may be determined.

lVe claim as our invention:

A fluid gage including a tank, a vertical tube, a float within said tubefor. actuating the indicator, a connection from the lower end of saidtank, a connection from above the lower end of said tube, the adjacentends of said connections being divergingly inclined downward and awayfrom a vertical line, a valve pivoted at its upper end to the upper endof each tube at the opening, and a chamber surrounding the ends of saidtubes and said valves, wherebywhen said tubes and chamber are level saidvalves will be open and when inclined one of said valves will be closedand one open. 7

In witness whereof, we have hereunto affixed our signatures in thepresence of the witnesses herein named.

WVILLIAM HAMPE. THEODORE M. HAMPE. EUGENE H. ROLLIN.

WVitnesses:

O. M. MCLAUGHLIN. -G. H. Bomx.

